Latin America (1020-1026) wilcox rules!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

LATIN AMERICAN STRUGGLES WITH NEOCOLONIALISM (KV)

1. The impact of the Great War and the Great Depression
   1. Having gained independence in the nineteenth century, Latin American nations continued to struggle to achieve stability in the midst of interference from foreign powers
   2. neocolonialism: foreign economic domination and military intervention and interference in the workings of a nation's political system
   3. This new imperial influence emanated from wealthy, industrialized powerhouses such as the United States and Great Britain, not former colonial rulers
   4. The Great War and the Great Depression led to a reorientation of political and nationalist ideals in Latin America
      1. Marxism, Lenin's theories on imperialism, and concern for workers shaped the views of many intellectuals and artists
      2. Revolutionary doctrines come to be seen as viable political alternatives to Enlightenment-based liberalism
      3. In the 1920s, inspired by the Mexican and Russian revolutions, university students began to demand reforms such as more representation within the educational system
      4. Students become imbued with Marxist thought and anti-imperialist ideas as universities became training grounds for future political leaders such as Fidel Castro
   5. New political parties were formed that openly espoused communism or rebellious agendas for change
      1. In Peru, José Carlos Mariátegui embraced Marxism and in 1928 established the Socialist Party of Peru
      2. Numerous other radical political movements critical of Peru's ruling system emerged during the 1920s and 1930s
      3. Victor Raúl Haya de la Torre, who supported anti-imperialism and workers' rights, influenced the APRA, which advocated a non-communist alternative to existing political arrangements
   6. Diego Rivera and his radical artistic visions

Diego's mural that was painted for the RCA bulding in Rockefeller, featuring Vladimir Lenin in the center, which was a major contributing factor to it being destroyed. (AE)

1. This Mexican artist, active in the Mexican Communist Party, blended artistic vision and radical political ideas in large murals created for public buildings, for the appreciation of working people
2. Rivera's art provoked controversy in the United States, as his paintings, particularly Imperialism, visualized the economic dependency and political repressiveness engendered by U.S. neo-colonialism
3. Rivera's art publicized the impact of U.S. imperialism and helped spread political activism in the Americas
1. The evolution of economic imperialism
   1. The export-oriented economies of Latin American states had long been controlled by U.S. and British investors
   2. The main trend of neocolonialism of the 1920s was increasing U.S. control of economic affairs of Latin American countries
   3. From 1924-1929, investments of U.S. banks and businesses grew from $1.5 to $3.5 billion, mostly in mineral extraction and oil drilling enterprises
   4. U.S. President Taft argued for substitution of "dollars for bullets" in Latin America, promoting peaceful commerce over expensive military intervention.
      1. Critics referred to these policies as "dollar diplomacy"
      2. Such policies illustrate what Latin Americans perceived as "Yankee imperialism"
   5. Great Depression halted economic growth as prices for Latin American commodities plummeted
   6. Foreign capital investment fell and foreign trade was restricted but domestic manufacturing and internal economic development made important gains, as under the Vargas regime in Brazil, for instance
   7. Vargas experimented by implementing protectionist policies, which pleased industrialists and urban workers, and social welfare initiatives to benefit workers (end KV)

Conflicts with a "Good Neighbor" (HC)

• Pressures of the Great Depression & instability of global politics led to reassessment of U.S. foreign policy in Latin America in the late ‘20s & ‘30s.
• Trying to rely more on “dollar diplomacy”, the U.S. policy makers approved “sweet-heart treaties”, that guaranteed U.S. financial control in the Caribbean economies.
  • U.S. Marines also provided training for police forces to keep the peace.
• Became known as the “Good Neighbor Policy”.
• Civil war broke out in Nicaragua in the 1920, and the US Marines had to keep intervening.
• Augusto César Sandino – Nationalist & liberal general, refused to accept peace agreements leaving Marines on Nicaraguan soil.
• The U.S. established the Guarda Nacional, in hopes of removing U.S. forces. Leading the Guarada Nacional was Anastacio Somoza.
• Juan Batista Sacasa – Elected present in 1932.
• After Sandino was murdered by the US National Guard, Somoza soon became president of Nicaragua.
• Proved himself a “good neighbor” of the United States, and also helped his country collect their largest fortune, and establish a political dynasty that ruled for many decades.
• Mexican president Lázaro Cárdenas nationalized the oil industry, which tested President Roosevelt’s conciliatory approach to Latin American relations.
• Negotiations resulted in foreign oil companies having to accept $24 million in compensation, as opposed to the $260 million they originally demanded.
• The U.S. wanted to cultivate Latin American markets for exports, while distancing itself from the militarist behavior of Asian and European imperial powers.
  • U.S. wanted to gain support from Latin America, in the likely even of another global war.
• Many Mexicans began migrating during and after The Great War, to search for agricultural and industrial work.
  • Thousands were deported during the Great Depression.
• To help bring a more positive image to Latin America, Hollywood “adopted” Carmen Miranda, a Latin American singer and dancer.

  Carmen Miranda - Known for her famously worn fruit hat. (HC)

• Began using Miranda’s image for the United Fruit Company to help in selling bananas.
• Helped to give U.S. consumers a softer image of Latin America, and take away from Diego Rivera’s Imperialism.(HC end)

(The great depression made many people lose jobs) -AG
(Above many people were left homeless because of the depression) -AG
(José Carlos Mariátegui embraced Marxism) -AG
(Victor Raúl Haya de la Torre supported anti-imperialism and workers' rights, influenced the APRA, which advocated a non-communist alternative to existing political arrangements) -AG
(U.S. troops captured one of Augusto César Sandino's flag) - AG
(Juan Batista Sacasa was Elected president in 1932.) -AG